Refund claim limitation under service tax export scheme remained prospective; late filing beyond the original period was time-barred.

Refund of service tax on exported goods had to comply with the filing period in the governing notification, which required quarterly claims to be submitted within sixty days from the end of the relevant quarter. The claim was filed after that limit, and the later notification extending the period to six months was held to operate prospectively only because it was not stated to be clarificatory or retrospective. The authorities were required to apply the limitation in force on the relevant date, so the claim was time-barred under the applicable notification and was correctly rejected.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim for service tax on exported goods, filed beyond sixty days from the end of the relevant quarter, could be entertained on the basis of a later notification extending the filing period to six months.

Analysis: The refund scheme under Notification No. 41/07-ST required quarterly claims to be filed within sixty days from the end of the relevant quarter. The claim in question was filed after that period. The later Notification No. 32/08-ST extended the period to six months, but the extension was not expressed to be clarificatory or retrospective. The earlier notification remained operative for claims governed by the period when it held the field, and the later amendment could apply only prospectively. The authorities under the notification were bound to apply the limitation as it stood on the relevant date.

Conclusion: The refund claim was time-barred under the applicable notification and was correctly rejected.

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